Inventive concepts relate to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a three-dimensional semiconductor memory device having a plurality of three-dimensionally arranged memory cells.
Semiconductor devices have been highly integrated for satisfying high performance and low manufacturing cost. Since integration of the semiconductor devices is an important factor in determining product price, high integration is increasingly demanded in particular. Integration of typical two-dimensional or planar semiconductor devices is primarily determined by the area occupied by a unit memory cell, such that it is greatly influenced by the level of technology for forming fine patterns. However, the extremely expensive processing equipment needed to increase pattern fineness may set a practical limitation on increasing the integration of the two-dimensional or planar semiconductor devices. To overcome such limitations, three-dimensional semiconductor devices having three-dimensionally arranged memory cells have been proposed.